If anyone’s heard me do a presentation over the last twelve months, you know I can’t get through one without using the word “WIKI.”

I’ll admit I’ve become a big proponent of wikis, and the possibilities they offer for a more intelligent and targeted delivery of information in a way that doesn’t just project information to the end-user; but actually engages them in a bi-directional exchange of knowledge.

I’m currently doing a fair amount of background reading on various aspects of wiki technology and the use of wikis for an upcoming white paper on Wiki Publishing.

What I hadn’t thought about until I started the research is why this open editing web based publishing environment is actually called a wiki. I had heard that it was an acronym for “What I Know Is.” But it turns out that this is more accurately a backronym.

Wiki doesn’t stand for anything.

“Wiki” is the Hawaiian word for “fast.”

The story goes that Ward Cunnigham, the creator of the first wiki site , installed in 1995, was looking for a name that reflected how quick it was to set up a his new style of website and remembered a counter clerk at Honolulu International Airport telling him to use the “wiki-wiki” shuttle bus.

Wiki Wiki Shuttle Bus at Honolulu Airport

Well this is one bus ride I, and the rest of the WebWorks team, is committed to. Hop on board and join us – they’ll be some interesting stops over the coming months.